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I tried the diet that he outlines here: http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2007/04/06/how-to-lose-20-lbs-of-fat-in-30-days-without-doing-any-exercise/ http://

by WillyF 16y ago

I tried the diet that he outlines here: http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2007/04/06/how-to-lose-20-lbs-of-fat-in-30-days-without-doing-any-exercise/ http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2007/04/06/how-to-lose-... I only did it for a few weeks before I went on vacation, but it worked really well. Not sure that I lost 20 lbs of fat, but I definitely lost some weight. Now, his ideas weren't all that earth shattering, but I wonder how the intricacies of his diet generate different results from straight up Atkins. I'll never know for sure, but it worked for me.

jessriedel 16y ago
> How to Lose 20 lbs. of Fat in 30 Days… Without Doing Any Exercise A pound of fat has 3500 calories. A 170 lbs. man needs something like 2500 calories per day if he doesn't exercise. (I think roughly 2000 for truly sedentary, 3000 for moderate activity.) That means that if you go without any food whatsoever for a month, you just barely lose 20 lbs. (And if you do this, you'll probably become so weak and lethargic that you'll start burning less than 2000/day.) There's just no reasonable way to lose 20 lbs. in 30 days without drugs, starving yourself, and/or a very strenuous exercise regime. If you ran 10 miles per day (at 125 calories/mile) you'd still only be able to eat a very meager 1200 calories per day. You'd have to run almost a marathon every day in order to afford a normal calorie intake.
- joelhaus 16y ago
  If you ran 10 miles per day (at 125 calories/mile) you'd still only be able to eat a very meager 1200 calories per day. Unless your metabolism remained elevated after your run.
  - neworbit 16y ago
    Sure, but how elevated can you expect it to be? (This is a serious question, I am not being snarky.) My vague understanding is that you get some level of metabolic boost from your body busily repairing itself, which is likely to be more true for weight work than cardio, but I don't actually know how much. Any good sources?
    - joelhaus 16y ago
      how elevated can you expect it to be It's circumstantial; varying by specific workout intensity, fitness level/history, genetic predispositions, among other factors. In addition to the repair time, as muscle mass increases, your body generally consumes more energy (calories). Personally, I maintained my weight while eating considerably more (c. 35%) when I played sports. more true for weight work - I'd be surprised if you are not correct. This understanding reflects my experiences (although I'm sure direct evidence exists too) with training, academic courses and as a college athlete.
- kareemm 16y ago
  You can lower caloric intake significantly by getting your carbs from fruits and vegetables and avoiding grains, breads, and refined sugars. The fat slides right off as your body enters a ketogenic state and burns fat instead of carbs for energy. That said, I'm not sure if it'll result in 20lbs of fat loss in a month.
- xiaoma 16y ago
  I've personally lost that much twice. The second time was due to illness while traveling, but the first time was when returning to serious distance running training after a multi-year layoff. Not only did I lost 20lbs in a month, it was a total of 55 lbs over three months. I went from struggling to do an easy one hour run to running over 150km/week. I'm almost positive your math is off on the calorie burning. As an overweight guy, you should be burning over a 100 calories per km, not mile. Also, there's more to it than just what you burn while running. After a certain tipping point (about an hour a day for me), it seems my body just doesn't want to store fat. I'm not sure if it was a factor, but like most successful distance runners, I stuck to a low-protein mostly plant-based diet while training. The other factor to consider is that someone approaching running from being a sedentary programmer (as opposed to a bodybuilder), you'll be building up muscle and even some bone mass as well as losing the fat. This is the case for pretty much any weight-bearing activity (eg, skiing, snowshoeing, etc)
  - jessriedel 16y ago
    > I went from struggling to do an easy one hour run to running over 150km/week. I think 150km/week qualifies as pretty strenuous! I'm not saying one can't lose 20 lbs. / month, I'm saying it doesn't happen by just eating healthier, smaller meals. > you should be burning over a 100 calories per km, not mile. Well, 125 cal / mile = 78 cal / km, so we're not off by much. Certainly, there will be that much variance depending on whether you're (a) healthy but not lean or (b) fairly overweight
desigooner 16y ago
anything suggesting a weight loss of over 5-8 lbs a month is not healthy and you'd yo-yo right back to it after getting off the regimen, diet or exercise.

by WillyF 16y ago

jessriedel 16y ago

> How to Lose 20 lbs. of Fat in 30 Days… Without Doing Any Exercise A pound of fat has 3500 calories. A 170 lbs. man needs something like 2500 calories per day if he doesn't exercise. (I think roughly 2000 for truly sedentary, 3000 for moderate activity.) That means that if you go without any food whatsoever for a month, you just barely lose 20 lbs. (And if you do this, you'll probably become so weak and lethargic that you'll start burning less than 2000/day.) There's just no reasonable way to lose 20 lbs. in 30 days without drugs, starving yourself, and/or a very strenuous exercise regime. If you ran 10 miles per day (at 125 calories/mile) you'd still only be able to eat a very meager 1200 calories per day. You'd have to run almost a marathon every day in order to afford a normal calorie intake.

joelhaus 16y ago
If you ran 10 miles per day (at 125 calories/mile) you'd still only be able to eat a very meager 1200 calories per day. Unless your metabolism remained elevated after your run.
- neworbit 16y ago
  Sure, but how elevated can you expect it to be? (This is a serious question, I am not being snarky.) My vague understanding is that you get some level of metabolic boost from your body busily repairing itself, which is likely to be more true for weight work than cardio, but I don't actually know how much. Any good sources?
  - joelhaus 16y ago
    how elevated can you expect it to be It's circumstantial; varying by specific workout intensity, fitness level/history, genetic predispositions, among other factors. In addition to the repair time, as muscle mass increases, your body generally consumes more energy (calories). Personally, I maintained my weight while eating considerably more (c. 35%) when I played sports. more true for weight work - I'd be surprised if you are not correct. This understanding reflects my experiences (although I'm sure direct evidence exists too) with training, academic courses and as a college athlete.
kareemm 16y ago
You can lower caloric intake significantly by getting your carbs from fruits and vegetables and avoiding grains, breads, and refined sugars. The fat slides right off as your body enters a ketogenic state and burns fat instead of carbs for energy. That said, I'm not sure if it'll result in 20lbs of fat loss in a month.
xiaoma 16y ago
I've personally lost that much twice. The second time was due to illness while traveling, but the first time was when returning to serious distance running training after a multi-year layoff. Not only did I lost 20lbs in a month, it was a total of 55 lbs over three months. I went from struggling to do an easy one hour run to running over 150km/week. I'm almost positive your math is off on the calorie burning. As an overweight guy, you should be burning over a 100 calories per km, not mile. Also, there's more to it than just what you burn while running. After a certain tipping point (about an hour a day for me), it seems my body just doesn't want to store fat. I'm not sure if it was a factor, but like most successful distance runners, I stuck to a low-protein mostly plant-based diet while training. The other factor to consider is that someone approaching running from being a sedentary programmer (as opposed to a bodybuilder), you'll be building up muscle and even some bone mass as well as losing the fat. This is the case for pretty much any weight-bearing activity (eg, skiing, snowshoeing, etc)
- jessriedel 16y ago
  > I went from struggling to do an easy one hour run to running over 150km/week. I think 150km/week qualifies as pretty strenuous! I'm not saying one can't lose 20 lbs. / month, I'm saying it doesn't happen by just eating healthier, smaller meals. > you should be burning over a 100 calories per km, not mile. Well, 125 cal / mile = 78 cal / km, so we're not off by much. Certainly, there will be that much variance depending on whether you're (a) healthy but not lean or (b) fairly overweight

desigooner 16y ago

anything suggesting a weight loss of over 5-8 lbs a month is not healthy and you'd yo-yo right back to it after getting off the regimen, diet or exercise.